In this section: Business Culture in Czech Rep.

Czech Meetings

Czech Rep.:

Czechs like to plan meetings well in advance and it can be quite difficult to set up a meeting at short notice. This need to plan ahead stems from the fact that Czechs do not like to arrive at a meeting unprepared. Czechs are detail oriented and prefer to arrive at a meeting feeling that they have all the facts and figures at their disposal. (Friday afternoon is not a good time to try to organise a meeting in the Czech Republic.)

It is important that you arrive at the meeting on time as lack of punctuality can imply a lack of professionalism as well undermining the seriousness of your intentions. In a country where everybody is seemingly mistrusted in the early stages, it would be foolish to put yourself further on the back foot for over such a simple matter as punctuality.
Cards are usually exchanged at the start of a meeting, although there is no particular ritual which goes along with the exchange. As a great deal of importance is placed on titles and educational background, it is quite a good idea to ensure that this information is printed on your business card.

Czechs tend not to show too much emotion within a business meeting and this, coupled with limited body language and facial expressions, can make your counterparts quite difficult to read. Do not mistake lack of emotion or physical feedback as a sign of lack of interest.

There will often be some small talk at the start of a meeting but this is limited in scope and duration.